Shipping case or container



c. s. DUDLEY. SHIPPING CASE 0R CONTAINER.

I 7 APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5I I917. 1,307,089.

Patented June 17, 1919.

wwwm CLARENCE S. DUDLEY, OF YPSILAN TI, MICHIGAN.

SHIPPING CASE. OR CONTAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1'7, 1919.

Application filed December 5, 1917. Serial No. 205,557.

To'aZZ whom it may concern Be it lmown that I, CLARENCE S. DUDLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ypsilanti, in the countyof Washtenaw and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Shipping Case or Container, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shipping cases particularly designed for use in shipping laundry and for other purposes, one of the objects of the invention being to provide a case which can be used many times and which is providedwith spaces for holding the address of the person to whom the case is to be shipped on the outgoing trip and the address to which the case is to be reshipped, those portions ofthe case containing the addresses being shiftable so as to expose either of the two addresses.

Another object is to provide a shipping case which is inexpensive in construction and will withstand considerable rough usage, the device being particularly useful to college students and others finding it desirable to mail or express soiled clothing to points where it can be laundried and then returned in the original package.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that various changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made within the scope of the appended claim and without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the shipping case, a portion being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the flaps rearranged to expose the return address.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of a portion of the case.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a box or container which can be made of corrugated paper board or of any other desired material and having front and back flaps 2 and 3 and side flaps 4 adapted to lap so as to close the top of the box. In other words the side flaps 4 can be swung into alinement as shown in Fig. 4 and the front and back flaps can then be swung downwardly and inwardly onto the side flaps so as to practically seal the box.

The bottom and walls of the box are provided with a covering 5 of canvas, khaki or other durable fabric and the covering on the front and back walls of the box is provided with extensions or flaps 6 and '7 having terminal pockets 8 and 9 respectively for the reception of the free longitudinal edges of the flaps 2 and 3. The extension flap 6 is adapted to receive a label 10 which may be pasted thereon. This label is adapted to contain the name and address of the shipper and the name and address of the person to whom the case is to be sent. Sewed or otherwise secured to the fabric extension 7 is a fabric apron 11 which can be extended either under the closure flap 2 as shown in Fig. 2 or over said closure flap as shown in Fig. 3. A label 12 is adapted to be pasted or otherwise secured to the apron 11 for holding the name and address of the shipper and of the consignee and it will be obvious that when this apron is extended over the closure flap 2 the label 10 will be concealed while the label 12 will be exposed. An opening 13 is formed in each of the free corner portions of apron 11.

Extending from the covering fabric 5 at the sides of the box are fabric flaps 14 provided, along their free longitudinal edges, with hems 15. Straps 16 are secured to the bottom of the case and one end of each of these straps is extended through one of the hems and buckled or otherwise fastened to the other end of said strap. When the flap 11 is arranged under the cover flap 2, the flaps 14 rest on the flaps 2 and 3 and hold them firmly upon the flaps 4 as shown in Fig. :2. The case can then be shipped to the address given on the label 10. To open the case the straps are unfastened, flaps 14 are swung outwardly and the cover flaps 2, 3 and 4 raised to expose the contents of the case. When the shipping case is to be sent to another address it is closed by folding the flaps 2, 3 and 4 inwardly but the apron 11 is left above the label 10 so that the label 12 will be exposed. Flaps 14 are then placed down on the ends of the apron 11 and the straps in the hems or casings 15 are threaded through the openings 13 and then fastened together so that the parts will be in the relative positions shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

Thus the parts Will be held securely together. By disengaging the pockets 8 and 9 from the closure flaps 2 and 3 the entire fabric covering can be removed from the boX 1 and said covering Washed or a new box'su-bstituted.

If desired an ordinary strap handle may be attached to the device so that it can be conveniently carried. This is so obvious that illustration thereof is inotideeined necessary.

WVhat is claimed is A shipping :caSe including a box having front, backand side closure flaps, a fabric covering reinova'bly mounted on the box and having front and backiflaps connected to the front and back flaps of the box, side flaps upon, the covering provided With casings along their ends, said d-ront and back flaps of the covering being in position to lap the side closure flaps, the front flap of the covering constituting means for holding an ;ad-

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the dress, an apron secured to the back flap of the covering and adapted to receive an address, said apron being movable to position over or under the address carrying flap, there being openings in the free corner portions of the apron, the side flaps of the covering being adapted to extend over the front and b ack :flaps of said covering and to lap the ends of the apron, and straps extending around the case and through the casings, said straps being insertible through the openings in the apron When said apron is exposed upon the address carrying closure flap. a In .testimonythat I claim the vforegoingfas my own, I have :heretoafiixed my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

ornannons. Dunner.

Witnesses;

B ANQHEM. LINDSAY, CHAS. E, BREININGL Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

